Panasonic VX3 (HC-VX3) 4K Camcorder, Lightweight Video Camera, Record Memories and Moments That Last

This is a great camcorder many pros as well as for family home videos love as with the auto functions it turns on opening the monitor then with decent light will takes great videos. Going pro it has additional options per manual control and some many interesting pre-post editing effects before transferring the files to whatever video editing software on your computer. With cinematic effects Panasonic added the dolly zoom effect. Think the movie 'Jaws' with Brody on the beach seeing a kid on a raft getting eaten by a shark and the camera sees his face never changing in distance while the background is zooming in. This dolly shot is built into the camcorder. This is a sturdy hard case I'm using for the Panasonic HV-VX981K camcorder which is a little larger than many small camcorders so not easy to find a case that fits especially with the wider lens hood for 16:9 recording. It holds the camera and supplied accessories, a second fast wall charger with two of the larger 390 batteries, additional 128Gb SD cards, a case with three 49mm UV, CPL, ND filters and a lens cap to protect them. There is still room for the excellent Sony ICD-UX570 recorder for secondary audio when video recording. In place of filters one could store a Ulanzi RGB Video light for special effects. Overall a compact case offering options for your gear. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BY36RJNH?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

Super happy with this purchase. I film all of my child’s sports games for his team using a gimbal. I switched from filming with a camera and this is great quality. Super light easy to use. Etsy happy with the quality

I'm pretty happy with this camcorder. We bought two of them and they, like most consumer cameras, are a little clunky out of the box. Features like auto light on/off, auto horizon level, and demo mode, can make it finicky to get your shot the way you want it, but a quick few minutes in the menu, got this camera in good working order. It has a great zoom lens with optics that allow the image to be sharp even at the tele end of the lens. I have noticed that the edges of the picture aren't super sharp when the camera is zoomed all the way out wide. For our application this isn't an issue as we'll be using this as a close up camera 99% of the time. This camera cannot record in 4K and output video via HDMI at the same time (HDMI will go out when you start recording), it can output and record to 1080P at the same time, however. The 4K is a little soft, as you would expect with a consumer camcorder, however the footage looks fantastic when scaled down to 1080p. The built in microphone is hands down the best quality I've ever heard from a built in camcorder mic. It sounds as if I'm using an external recorder. I'm also glad it has a built in video light and nightvision, however as I mentioned earlier, the built in light turns on and off constantly in auto mode, so I recommend disabling auto and switching it on/off manually when needed.

This is unbelievable. At first, I was a little annoyed that you have to pay so much for a camera that lets you set manual iris/focus/sound etc. But I finally but the bullet and paid 4x as much as a regular fully auto HD cam. I'm so glad I did. I just tested all of the fancy bells and whistles that I was skeptical about. Holy crap, they all work! I got this camera for recording my own concerts. The audio is on par with some of the field recorders out there. The 4k resolution means that I can leave this at a wide angle from across the venue and later in editing, zoom into my bandmates it as if it were a second and third camera. On top off all that, I don;t have to run out into the audience to press record right before the show and then run out after the show. I can control it from my phone (this is what I was sure wouldn't work properly but it did)! The wifi range isn't long enough for a large venue or festival, but you can tap into a wifi router which I already have on stage for our sound gear. I only got this camera because of it's manual control. Don't try shooting concerts with an automatic camera. The cameras don't understand stage lighting and it will look horrible unless it's a well lit outdoor show (of if the stage lights never change). Plus, they alway automatically focus on the stupid little toys and signs and beach balls that pop up from the audience. Manual settings solve all of that. You can get that with several different Cannon and sony cams for around the same price. But this camera absolutely CRUSHES it with the extra stuff. I am amazed. Tip: don't bother buying the expensive larger battery. Get a usb backup charger. The kind that you can use to power a phone or tablet. I have a heavy duty one that will outlast any camera battery. If you're using a tripod, you just rig up a place to put it and you're gold.

I love this camera!!! It's small and light, and well made, and feature rich. With a Comica V10 Pro mic and standard battery attached, this thing weighs less than a pound. If you have big hands, I can see how this could be too small for you. But, the ergonomics of the form factor for shooting video on this thing versus a DSLR or... a phone, is just way better, and way more comfortable. Also, there's no big learning curve to using this thing, like there is with a DSLR. I bought the Panasonic HC-V785(K?) Camcorder as my main camera to create content. I was looking at the Panasonic HC-VX981, which is the 4K version of this camera, but I could not afford it at this time. Don't quote me on this, but it seems that the only major difference between HC-VX981 and this one (HC-V785), is that the -VX981 shoots in 4K and the -V785 shoots in 1080p. I don't ever make 4K content, so this wasn't a big deal. This camera allows you to manually control your shutter speed, ISO, aperture, and White Balance (setting White Balance on here is really simple). But the auto image mode (where the camera picks the settings) is actually pretty good, too. This camera shoots excellent video with ease, and I'm able to get great picture quality with blurry backgrounds. It has impressive Zoom that you just can't get on a DSLR without changing out lenses mid... thrust, and the built-in microphone is really good (aside from being out on a really windy day, when it's not). It's got an external mic input, so you can use whatever mic you want with this thing. And it's got an HDMI out, so you can record to an external source. This camera also has an audio out (3.5 mm) so you could monitor the sound coming in. This camera has a built-in light, that is surprisingly helpful. Transferring data from this camera to my computer is a breeze; as soon as you plug the camera into a computer, and click PC, it comes up as a read-only hard drive. So, you can drag and drop your files, but you can't delete anything off the camera via PC. If you wanna delete anything off your camera, you need to do it on the camera itself, in this configuration; minor gripe. You can shoot stills with this camera, but they're just.. okay. I don't really take pictures when making my content, so this feature isn't that important to me. Image stabilization is pretty decent, as well. This camera uses SDXC SD cards up to 128 GB (according to the manual), but I'm currently using a 256 GB SDXC SD card, with no issues. The battery it comes with lasts for about an hour and 40 minutes. If you're plugged into a wall, you can pretty much shoot all day and not overheat. There are some things I do not love about this camera. The biggest one is that when I completely face the screen in "selfie" Mode (screen facing the same direction as the camera is pointing), the ability to adjust any camera options via touchscreen disappears. This is frustrating when I am filming things, alone. I feel like this could be fixed with a software or firmware update. Which leads me to my next big issue with this camera: there is almost no support for this camera from Panasonic. Panasonic! -Can't ya spare A GUY?! -Just one? It seems like your menu and features on your camcorders have been using the same base software for the past 10 years (AND THAT IS NOT A BAD THING, it works! Panasonic surprisingly makes an excellent line of video cameras), can't ya just throw A guy or two at this to make minor product improvements on your existing product lines? ...Please?? -I love your stuff. The wifi feature is kinda hoky - I mean, being able to link your phone and use it as second camera is cool, but your phone app sucks, and I really feel like this camera should have a blue tooth option to be able to link... everything to this camera. Another minor issue I have, is that the audio from the audio out has a slight delay which, if you were monitoring your sound with some headphones, could really mess you up. I also wish there was a dedicated stop-motion setting on this thing; I have not figured out how do it with this camera, or if it's even capable. This camera is not perfect, but it is still extremely capable. With all its short-comings, I still love this thing. I love playing with it, I love using it, and I love the output and features it gives me. If you're looking for a dedicated camera for shooting video, and you don't have the money to spend on a DSLR -and/or you don't have the know-how to use a DSLR, this camera, or its 4K brother (HC-VX981), is not a bad option. This is a good video camera, guys.

Great little 4K cameras for the price! We use these as extra b-roll cameras for various angle shots for weddings, live events, etc. - and the image quality is quite impressive. I do wish they had a true 4K video output of normal HDMI size and not a micro HDMI, as you can't record and output at the same time when set to 4K resolution.

Camera itself works great. Has far more capabilities than I will ever tap. Two areas that affect the rating of which one was has to to do with the camera itself. First the buying experience is a bit exasperating when the product is listed for $200 less today than 2 weeks ago when purchased. Word to the wise is shop around as Amazon likely does not have the best price on this if it is showing anything above $800. My fault for being loyal (blind) to PRIME. Issue about camera is, to date, I cannot locate any compatible remote zoom control that will mount on the tripod that was also purchased. After sifting thru the 300 page manual and some less than helpful interactions with Panasonic tech support chat reps it appears this does not have a compatible device. This conclusion was confirmed by working with a rep from Adorama who does sell thru Amazon but actually offers their own tech support directly. I contacted them after purchasing and retuning two control units from Amazon that had a generic description that they fit "Panasonic" camcorders. In the end I have a beautiful setup but I am reduced to zooming by using a second hand on top of the camera while I move the boom on the tripod. Not efficient of effective. Given the price issue I experienced I would not recommend making similar purchases via Amazon as other retailers appear to be more competitively priced and are far more knowledgeable on this unit right now.

Inexpensive, durable, and easy to use, this is the best camcorder ive ever owned